1. Technical Field
The invention relates to the rotational bearing of a rotational body, i.e. an arrangement comprising a support body, the rotational body and a plurality of carrier rollers, via which the rotational body is rotatably supported on the support body by rolling contact.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rotationally mounting axes and shafts or revolving components on axes with the aid of roll bearings allows axial and/or radial forces and moments to be transferred from the axis/shaft onto the surrounding structure, depending on the embodiment of the bearings.
A roll bearing generally consists of an inner and an outer running surface, between which a number of roll bodies are mounted. The roll bodies roll off on the running surfaces, such that a rotational movement between the running surfaces results from the relative movements at the contact points of the roll bodies and running surfaces. The running surfaces are generally provided by an outer and an inner bearing ring.
From the specification of rotatably connecting the axis/shaft to the surrounding structure and/or rotatably connecting the surrounding component to the axis, it follows that the inner bearing ring must surround the axis/shaft, i.e. it is provided with an opening which receives a corresponding section of the axis/shaft. The outer ring is correspondingly larger.
When mounting large axes/shafts or large components on correspondingly large axis, both the dimensions of the axis/shaft and the forces and moments to be transferred require the roll bearings to reach an enormous size in parts, and these are correspondingly expensive.
Bearing slackness increases due to abrasion on the roll bodies and running paths, and the running accuracy of the bearing decreases. Once an abrasion limit—dependent on the respective application—is reached, the bearing must be renewed or overhauled. This often requires the axis/shaft to be dismantled and may therefore necessitate long and expensive downtimes for the machine or plant.